Life Goes On
by Shayera
Summary: A decade or so after the end of the series, two kids watch an Imperial parade. Mostly just cute fluff.


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Life Goes On

Ten-year-old Shinsei owned one item that he treasured over everything else. It was a small, round, polished bronze mirror, complete with a wooden handle and a sculpted frame full of strange patterns. It had been expensive, almost more than his simple merchant family could handle - but he had poured his entire savings, small as they were, into it, and his mother had eventually helped him pay the rest. It had been worth it. 

It was a great mirror. Shinsei found himself peering into its depths whenever he didn't have anything better to do, and he brought it with him everywhere. It was as if the world was even wider and more wonderful on the other side of the polished surface. And the most fascinating thing about it was, of course, the fact that he could see his own face. Shinsei was a good-looking boy, something he hadn't realized until the first time he had looked into the mirror. Now, he enjoyed realizing it as often as he could. 

His big brother teased him about it, naturally. Mirrors were for girls, and caring about one's appearance was even more girly. But Shinsei took it with a shrug. Perhaps his brother, a rather plain-looking guy, was simply jealous. 

Another good thing with the mirror was the fact that it warned him against sneak attacks from behind. 

Shinsei spun around and caught hold of his would-be attacker by the arms. "Haha!" he exclaimed. "I saw you coming!" 

If Shinsei was sometimes accused of being girly, Ryuuka hardly ever faced such accusations. Which was ironic, because she was a girl. She was also Shinsei's best friend since a couple of years back. Right now she wore a streak of dirt on her cheek, a tear in her purple kimono, and a pout on her face. 

Shinsei had asked her once why she wouldn't act a little more ladylike - she had laughed at him. "You know," she had said, "I could. But I don't feel like it... anymore." 

The last word had been so low that Shinsei hadn't been sure it was even there. He hadn't asked again - after all, he liked Ryuuka the way she was. She was a very fun person to be around. 

Ryuuka snorted. "It's that mirror. I can never sneak up on you." 

"Try it when I'm not holding it," Shinsei said with a smile, giving her advise against his better knowledge. 

"But you're always holding it..." Ryuuka complained. Then she suddenly brightened. "Oh, I almost forgot," she said. "I came here to get you! Something's happening on the street!" 

Shinsei eyes widened. "What?" he asked curiously. 

She shook her head secretively. "Haven't you even heard? My parents have been talking about it all day." When Shinsei shook his head, she sighed. "You don't hear a thing, do you? It's the Emperor!" 

"The Emperor?" The word somehow gave Shinsei the shivers, and he wondered why. 

"Yeah, the Emperor is going on a parade through the city today. Don't you want to see him?" She grabbed his hand, and he hardly had time to put the mirror back on his belt strap before she started pulling him away. "Come on!" 

Ryuuka brought Shinsei from of the back yard where they had been talking and out into the street. They seemed to be right on time, because people were just starting to move aside, crowding together on the edges of the road so that the middle would be free and passable. It was hard for the children to move through the crowds, and they seemed to be stuck behind the mass of people, where they wouldn't be able to see a thing. 

"This won't do," Ryuuka mumbled. She looked around a moment and spotted a crooked pine standing conveniently by the roadside not far away. "Let's climb that tree," she suggested. 

Shinsei nodded. He wasn't very good at climbing trees, but this thing had piqued his curiosity. He would really like to see this Emperor. 

Ryuuka nimbly climbed the pine and settled herself on a branch that gave a very good view of the road. Shinsei tried to follow, but in his attempts not to scratch his breeches, he slipped and almost fell off. Ryuuka caught hold of his hand and pulled him up, smiling. She was a lot stronger than she looked. 

"Now just hold still," she whispered. "He's coming, look!" 

He was. Further down the road, they could see how rows upon rows of soldiers appeared around a corner, and among them, carried in an extraordinarily decorated open wagon, the Emperor. It was hard to make him out clearly in the distance, but the first thing that struck them was how young he looked. 

"He's hardly older than we are," Ryuuka gasped. "And so pretty!" 

She was right. The Emperor was a boy, twelve or thirteen at maximum, and he was very pretty. Shinsei nudged her in the side for that comment, though. He was about to say something too, but suddenly went still and silent. The Emperor turned his gaze on him. 

Shinsei knew his own mirror image, and the Emperor didn't look anything like it at all. But still, when their eyes met, it was as if he was seeing himself. The eyes, the entire face, it was almost painfully familiar - even more so because he couldn't for his life remember where he had seen that face before. And strangest of all, the Emperor seemed to feel the same. Confusion, recognition, and finally, some sort of understanding... he could see it all flash in the Emperor's eyes. It was all over in an instant, but before the wagon was carried past the tree, the Emperor bowed his head to Shinsei. Only slightly - it could have been his own imagination - but the boy could have sworn it was a bow. 

"Hey!" The parade was already disappearing in the distance, and Ryuuka turned to talk to Shinsei, who was still staring at the empty air in front of him. "Hey, are you listening to me?" 

Shinsei shook his head. "Did you _see_ that?" he finally whispered, awed. "The Emperor - it was like he _knew_ me!" 

Ryuuka frowned. "What? Don't go imagining things just because he's almost as cute as you are." 

Shinsei almost missed the compliment, if indeed it was one, but he was about to tell his friend what he had seen when she suddenly continued. 

"It's strange, though," she said. "I felt some kind of deja vú when I saw him. But I know I've never seen an Imperial parade before in my life." She bit her lip and changed subject. "I wonder what it's like to live in the palace... I bet it's wonderful. You'll have all these servants doing your every bidding, you can eat whenever and whatever you want, and you don't have to do any work!" 

Shinsei considered it. If he was the Emperor, he could have beautiful mirrors everywhere, and his father would never yell at him about doing his chores, and his mother wouldn't tell him to go to bed when he wasn't sleepy... It sounded very nice. 

"I'm not sure, though," he said aloud. "I think it's really lonely. Being the Emperor would be like living in a gilded cage." 

Ryuuka nodded slowly. "I suppose," she said. "But I definitely think being the Emperor is better than living as one of his consorts." 

Shinsei stared at her. "How do you know?" 

She stared back. "How do _you_ know?" 

That was a very good question. Both of them remained sitting on the branch, staring at each other for several seconds. Then, at the same moment, both started to laugh. People down on the street gave them curious glances, but they didn't care. They leaned against each other for support as fits of laughter shook them. When one of them finally spoke, it was Shinsei. 

"Sometimes," he said, "I have the feeling I've known you for far longer than these two years." 

Ryuuka nodded. "Yeah, me too." She giggled again and added, "Do you think it's destiny?" 

"Maybe it is." He smiled and hugged her. 

This time, they had neither wealth, power, nor a war to fight at any cost. But they did have each other, and the future. 


End file.
